It didn't really sink in for Héctor what they were doing until Salvador placed the pistol in his hand and showed him, step by step, how to load and fire it. Meche and Imelda had demanded their pistols first, and Manny was going through the process by himself. Héctor's head swam. He was going out of this room with the intent to kill a man. He almost balked. He nearly gave the gun back. What was he doing today? What was wrong with this holiday that everything weird happened to him only on Dia de Muertos?

But when he looked up, past Salvador's shoulder and into the door that lead out to the office, he saw Miguel. He was looking out at him from the door, barely open, with those eyes that looked so much like Coco's. Every Dia de Muertos, Héctor had been in weird situations, but Miguel had been in danger. No more. This ended tonight, if he could help it. He couldn't have doubts about this, for Miguel's sake.

And then Miguel tried to hide, like they hadn't made eye contact! He was just like Imelda in all the ways that would get him in trouble…

Salvador noticed his distraction. "Is everything all right, Héctor?"

And now everybody was looking at him. Héctor sighed fondly and answered them with a little call to the door. "Dante~"

Dante barked on the other side.

A groan went through the room, but a small one, an understanding one. But a groan. He caught a flash of Miguel's arm through the door, and he offered. "We already know you're there. You can come in."

Miguel only peeked out from behind the door. "You're all staring at me, it's weird."

"Did two shows a night for eight months," Manny quipped, "And this is weird."

Héctor tried again. "Well can I get a hug before we leave?"

Miguel's gasp was so sharp and hopeful from the door, it surprised him. But there wasn't time to think about it, because Miguel launched himself out of the door and flew into his arms for a hug. His little hands shot under his coat and wrapped right around his ribs. Héctor was touched, if worried. "Are you that scared, mijo?"

"He's entirely justified," Salvador assured him. "This mission puts all of us in incredible peril."

Héctor's stomach sank. "Oh…"

Imelda came around Miguel's other side and wrapped her hands around his shoulders. "You don't need to worry about us. We'll all be out there together, and with Manolo and Joaquin there, we can't come to any harm. Isn't that right, Héctor?"

"Of course," he assured Miguel. Thank goodness for Imelda. "There's nothing for you to worry about."

Miguel nodded in the lapels of his coat. "You better keep him safe," came his muffled statement.

Imelda and Manny both answered "I will" before shooting each other a look. It made Héctor chuckle, but he couldn't' fight that stab of humiliation that went through him at the same time. Miguel was the one that needed to be kept safe and protected, the little helpless child in the room, not him.

He kept that thought to himself while Manny reached out and ruffled Miguel's hair. Miguel pulled away from Héctor to face Manny head on. "You be good, all right? No pulling any stunts like you did with the octopus."

Miguel smiled. "Si, Mamá."

Imelda rolled her eyes. "You have to explain what that is about when this is all over."

Meche came forward after him and gently held Miguel's hands. Miguel returned the gesture and watched her eyes as she told him, "Be brave. Be safe. Don't do anything foolish."

"You're doing it," Miguel said plainly.

"Yes, and it's for us to do, not for you." Meche smiled when Miguel giggled. "So stay here and listen to Miss Eva."

Miguel nodded. "I will."

"We cannot linger for much longer. The back room boys will be ready with the liquid nitrogen soon." Salvador gave Miguel a fast salute. "Farewell, my little revolucionario."

Miguel salted back. "Viva la revolución!"

They all bid him one last goodbye and a little hug as they went out the door. Héctor forced down the heavy knot in his throat as the lock shut and clicked behind him. This was it. Here they were, in the tunnels under the Department of Death, ready to get the last of their supplies and storm the enemy gates. Héctor pulled his coat closed to hide his nervous gulp.

"ALL RIGHT!" Joaquin shouted from the tunnels. He and Manolo perched atop the Bone Wagon, playing willy-nilly with the hydraulic lift remote while Glottis yelped helplessly. "Who's ready for some justifiable homicide?!"

"ME!" Manolo threw his hands in the air every time the car dropped to the wet concrete. "Mememe! I call dibs on the first stab!"

"GUYS I'M SCARED OF HEIGHTS!" Glottis wailed.

"No way, I had to take his orders! I've got a special move waiting just for him!" Joaquin struck a pose. "I call it: The Resignation Letter! Joa-QUIN!"

Manny's hands went right in his pockets. "Well, there goes all the gravitas of the moment."

Meche cocked an eyebrow. "Do you two always get this excited about murder?"

"Only when it's evil dudes!" said Manolo. "Otherwise it'd just be weird!"

Well, at least he didn't have a lump in his throat now. Héctor crossed his arms. "Oh yes, absolutely the picture of normalcy now."

("Ay, just like Victoria…" Imelda groaned behind him.)

Small waves of L.S.A. troops deployed out of side rooms, about fifty in total. They fell in line behind Salvador, and one by one, the three senior troops handed out small metal vials to everyone in the room.

"Liquid nitrogen," Sal explained. "If you are shot, remove the metal cap and stab the pin into the center of the wound. Freeze the flowers, stop the growth."

"Like an epipen," noted Meche.

"Like a what?" Héctor asked.

Salvador cut him off. "Later. Right now, we must proceed with the plan. Eva has given me the combination to the gate that leads to the loading area in back of the D.o.D. offices."

Manny nodded. "The old garage."

"You're sure you can get all of us in without suspicion?"

"Absolutely," said Héctor. He already had a pretty good inkling on how to get into the building unnoticed, once he learned Ernesto had made it the venue. When they told him in the briefing that the equipment and props were loaded via the back door, he knew for certain. "All I need is a window."

"Then stay close to me, Agent Rivera."

Salvador lead them up a ladder and into a back alley. They marched like a little line of ants around the fencing and through the gate, up to the oversized rolling gate framed in colorful backdrops and prop statues. Héctor was telling the truth when he said all he needed was a window: one little glass window left cracked near the bustling back door. For all the business in the Land of the Dead, nobody actually wanted to organize it all, and so nobody ever replaced Ceci.

Héctor sidled up under the open window and sang. "Cecilia, you're breakin' my heart. You're shakin' my confidence lately~"

Manolo came in and harmonized for maybe one word before his woman on the inside threw the window open for him: Ceci the ever-understaffed event coordinator. "Héctor?!"

"Hola Ceci!" he chirped. "Been a while-"

"What are you doing wearing that ridiculous- get in here!" Ceci grabbed him by the lapels and hoisted him right through the window. He landed in a heap on the floor. "I can't believe- tonight of all nights! It's like a miracle! Ay caramba if I only had a few more of you-!"

He checked the window. Manolo waved and gave him the thumbs up, and he thumbed Ceci over to it. "Actually?"

"Oh the gods be praised!" Ceci hurried to the door and cut a path to let the whole entourage in behind him without even so much as asking their names. Héctor was almost embarrassed by how well that worked. "I take back everything I ever said about you! Quick, get those coats off and freshen up, you all smell like a barn, híjole-!"

Several of the L.S.A. men checked their armpits, and Héctor wondered for a moment if they forgot they were dead. He just rolled his eyes and ducked into a cubicle with Imelda to peel off their coats and dust themselves with spray. It wicked the smell off of them instantly.

"And what has she said about you?" Imelda whispered low.

Héctor wasn't about to touch that, not tonight. He pulled off his hat. "Don't ask."

Meche scrambled in to join them, anxiously clutching her coat as if she didn't know where to leave it. Héctor took it from her instead and heaped it into the corner of the cubicle along with his and Imelda's. Meche summarized, "Salvador ducked out the back with Joaquin and Manolo! And this woman is out there giving all the men unibrow stickers and telling them they're Frida Kahlo now! What is going on out there?"

"Wait, really?!" Héctor peeked over a wall to check. Ceci was there, sizing up all the bewildered young agents for wigs! "Oh this is perfect!"

"How?" said Meche.

"Well I was just going to steal Ceci's personal costume, but this saves us the trouble!"

Imelda and Meche were so confused. They kept looking between each other.

"How do you know-?"

"What is she doing with-?"

Manny slipped into the cubicle, wearing a suit and a scowl. "She wouldn't give me a unibrow."

"Manny I mean this in the best possible way," said Héctor, "But you don't look like Frida Kahlo."

Manny could not have been more unaffected. "How casually you crush my dreams."

It made Meche giggle at least.

"Look, whatever disguises fit you best back here, grab them and wear them!" Héctor summarized. "I know I fit in the Frida suit-"

"How-?!"

He held up a finger in front of Imelda. "EHP! So I'm covered, and I can get out in public without people bothering me because everybody knows better than to talk to Frida Kahlo! I mean, I had planned on putting Manolo in the Diego Rivera suit and then we'd REALLY be left alone, but he left and now I need someone-" He sized up Manny's shoulders. "Well, about your width in the shoulders but two feet taller."

Manny cocked an eyebrow at that. "Really."

"Well, either that or we put you up on stilts, but you don't have any experience-"

Manny slapped his forehead.

And a realization dawned over Héctor. "… you don't."

And Meche started to giggle. "He does! I saw it myself- he walked on stilts when he was a Reaper to look taller!"

Imelda's laugh cracked into an ugly bray that she tried to stifle in Héctor's back, and it very much did not work. Instead it just tickled Héctor, who was already tickled at the mental picture of Manny stumbling around on stilts, and it made him start giggling out loud.

Manny just slowly clawed his hand down his face. "Do you know where there's some stilts or not?"

This was all working out too well. This was crazy and it was going to work. He couldn't believe it. Everything was going according to plan! He would just have to plan the Frida Kahlo to Manny's Diego Rivera. This was going to be… weird. But doable! This would work! And to think he had been so dour parting from Miguel earlier today. Everything was going to be fine!